Nobody should say Apple's OS can't get malware but there are so few incidents that when a new one appears, it's actually news, and Apple will issue a fix themselves. It's almost like herd immunity. Outbreaks are so rare and isolated they get stamped out before they amount to anything.

"Apple can't get viruses" is certainly not true, but at this point nearly all users have an experience that's the same as if it was true.

Huggermugger:Believe it or not, there was even a time when rotary phones were brand new.

Back in the 80's I used to dial out on "answer only" phones that had no dialer by rapidly depressing the hook switch to simulate rotary dialing. Most people had no idea that rotary dial was simply a rapid disconnect-reconnect series of pulses, so the only protection from dialing out on such phones was the lack of a dialer.

doglover:Actually what they always said was "Nobody writes viruses for Macs." I was there. It's what people who know tech said.

The only people who say "Macs don't get viruses." are people who don't understand the how and why of viruses.

No, that's what people that don't know tech say.

Macs don't get viruses, because the OS doesn't allow it. Viruses aren't trojans, which is another thing people that don't know tech can't seem to figure out either.

/There are more apache servers than IIS, yet IIS is compromised more. Why would hackers focus on the system with smaller numbers, if we are to believe people write viruses for MS instead of Mac because of the numbers?

Malware has existed on both platforms, but I don't think there has been a single actual virus on the iOS platform. That's not to say there couldn't be, but there are some advantages to the "walled garden" approach. Though many will point out that a fair amount of Android malware is from side loaded apps.

serial_crusher:unless you spend so much time vetting each app you install that you're completely confident it's legitimate and virus-free

You know who spends so much time vetting every app I install that I'm completely confidant it's legitimate and virus-free? Apple, that's who.

And this is why Apple's app store is a tenth of the size of Google Play.

Also, I have some serious doubts about just how many viruses are actually out there and how easy they are to get. All of these apps come with a comments and rating system. If it comes with a virus, it's going to to advertised well before you download it. Viruses are also highly illegal, so if you're passing an app as a virus, then your name is going to be all over it.

Finally, a pet peeve:

There are two primary types of Android viruses: Trojans, which send SMS messages to premium numbers, and spyware, which sends information-contacts, for instance-from the phone to the spyware's developer.

Sorry, but nether of these are "viruses". Viruses copy themselves and infect other devices. At best, these are collectively "malware".